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Wednesday, February 21, 2018
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Chamber launches website to attract business
By Kelly Whitmire
kwhitmire@forsythnews.com
Officials with the Cumming-
Forsyth County Chamber of
Commerce have debuted a new
way to let businesses know
about the county.
The chamber recently
launched ChooseForsyth.org, a
new website aimed at economic
development. The site gives
corporate executives, local busi
nesses and site-selection con
sultants information about the
county.
“The Chamber of Commerce
is committed to diversifying
Forsyth County’s tax digest by
enhancing our economy
through business attraction and
retention. ChooseForsyth.org
was developed to be a key
resource for companies to learn
more about the advantages of
Chamber hires senior project manager for technology
By Kelly Whitmire
kwhitmire@forsythnews.com
The Cumming-Forsyth
County Chamber of
Commerce has a new
member in charge of
bringing more tech busi
nesses to Forsyth and
working on the needs of
those already here.
Scott Evans was recent
ly hired as the chamber’s
new senior project man
ager for technology.
Evans said a significant
portion of the county
works in technology
fields outside the county
and wants to increase the
Lake Lanier: did you know?
» Construction of the man-made lake
started in 1950, was completed in
1956 and reached first full pool in
1958
+ $45 million to construct
* 39,038 acres of water at full pool
* 17,726 acres of public land
¢ 692 shoreline miles ;
* 33 USACE day use parks
¢ 7 USACE campgrounds
FROM 1A
between your customers,
because it’s full. That just
seems to bring a positive
impact on it.”’
_The lake reached about
the same level as Tuesday
on the same date in 2016
and 2015, but what that
means for the rest of the
year will depend on rain
and other factors over the
summer. At the end of
2015, the level was more
than 1,075 feet, while it
was about 1,060 feet at
the end of 2016.
“In the year 2016, we
were above elevation
1,070 leading into the
month of May, and then
all of a sudden, condi
tions got dry. The reser
voir fell maybe eight feet
in the remaining seven
month period,” Hathorn
said. “It’s good to be full
in this winter period,
[but] it is not guaranteed
it will be full in the sum
mer, as well. But we are
happy. It’s better to be at
elevation 1,070 than
below 1,070.”
On Feb. 20, 2017, the
lake level was 1,061 feet.
That year, due to the lake
level, the corps took steps
doing business in the area,” said
Robert Long, Vice President of
Economic Development for the
Chamber of Commerce, in a
news release.
The website will be managed
by the chamber’s economic
development department and
provide businesses with infor
mation on the county, including
real estate options, economic
data, business resources and
more.
“Forsyth County is the fast
est-growing county in Georgia.
Its excellent school system and
superior quality of life have
fueled residents’ choice to raise
their families here,” Long said.
“Through ChooseForsyth.org,
we can provide people with the
necessary information to
choose Forsyth County for their
business endeavors as well.”
In 2017, Forsyth County
number of local jobs.
“There are 70,000 peo
ple that leave Forsyth
County that go to Atlanta
to work, and that’s the
traffic that you see driv
ing up Ga. 400,” Evans
said. “You can see a huge
majority of the people
that leave Forsyth County
work in a high-tech sec
tor. They go to Atlanta.
They go to Fulton County
to work.”
Evans said he would be
targeting tech firms to
encourage them to move
to the county.
“We always recruit all
other sectors, but as we’re
* 7.5 million visitors annually
* 5 counties (Lumpkin, Dawson,
Forsyth, Gwinnett, Hall)
* 15,000 private residences, 10,000-
plus permits
* 10 marinas (10,000-plus boats)
* 14 county/city parks
* 6 state-managed parks
* 80 public boat ramps
to mitigate damage done
by the drought.
“We were only meet
ing the water quality
[and] the water supply
requirements downstream
of the project,” Hathorn
said. “We reduced the
amount of hydropower
that we were generating
from the project itself.”
Hathorn said there was
only so much people
could do to help the level.
“The main contributor
is Mother Nature provid
ing rain at the right loca
tions. In order to refill
Lanier, you need rain
above the project, abov
the dam itself,” he said.
He said rain has been
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Courtesy the Chamber of Commercsii YN B e,
Commissioners and the cham
ber were among several entities
to look at expanding the organi
zation’s ability to bring in busi
nesses.
“Expanding Forsyth County’s
growing as a chamber, as
a county, this is the first
time that we have seg
mented economic devel
opment,” he said.
“Because of that pay gap
and the number of peo
ple going to Atlanta, the
county decided that this
would be their first tar
get.”
Evans has previously
worked as a management
consultant, a chamber
executive and has back
grounds in management
coaching and IT system
designs.
Beginning in late
March, Evans plans to
especially heavy in the
last 10-14 days.
Haddock said a higher
lake level meant better
business and happier cus
tomers.
“Of course, operation
for us is a lot better when
the water is up because
you don’t have all these
steep ramps people are
walking up and down, the
safety hazards, that kind
of thing,” he said. “When
the lake is at [full] pool,
you don’t have as many
obstacles that they are
running over, so they
don’t tend to tear up the
props and outdrives as
much as you would in
low lake levels.”
web footprint is one of several
proactive economic develop
ment initiatives the business
community is collaborating on
with the board of commission
ers,” said Forsyth County
begin hosting a group of
leaders from existing
technology businesses to
learn about their needs
and concerns.
“Basically, what I am
looking for is the execu
tives that run the hi-tech
companies here that are
already in Forsyth
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ForsythNews.com | FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS |
County [and] to get them
under one roof and meet
ing together on a regular
basis,” he said. “This is a
very long process if
you’re considering mov
ing a company, so the
best [way] you can make
it attractive is by telling
the story of those that
Presented by:
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CUMMINC ‘-»FQRS\”I‘I*I COUNTY
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Watch on
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Studio
Commission Chairman Todd
Levent. “Our goal is to provide
as many resources as possible
to attract quality new invest
ments and jobs to our commu
nity.”
are living and working
here.”
Evans recommended
any interested business
officials reach out to
him. He can be reached
at sevans @cummingfor
sythchamber.orgor by
calling the chamber at
770-887-6461. ‘
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